Final answer:
The most appropriate level of measurement for the number of bicycles sold at a store last month is the Ratio level because it has a true zero, allows for ordering, difference calculation, and ratio computation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks us to determine the most appropriate level of measurement for the number of bicycles sold at a store last month. The levels of measurement, in order of increasing complexity, are: Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, and Ratio. The number of bicycles sold is a quantitative measure and can be counted; therefore, it must be either interval or ratio.
Unlike interval data, ratio data has a meaningful zero point, which represents the absence of the quantity being measured. In the case of the number of bicycles sold, a zero would indicate that no bicycles were sold. Additionally, ratio data allows for the comparison of the magnitude of quantities and the calculation of ratios. For example, if 10 bicycles are sold one month and 20 the next, we can say that twice as many bicycles were sold in the latter period.
Given this information, the number of bicycles sold is a Ratio level of measurement because it meets all the criteria: there is a true zero point (no bicycles sold), it is possible to say that more bicycles were sold in one period relative to another (order), the exact difference in the number of bicycles sold can be calculated (differences have meaning), and we can express one quantity as a multiple of another (ratios can be calculated).